Norwegian Bodil Nika is one of few female tenor-saxophone players who can play in the style of jazz legends Stan Getz, Zoot SIMS, Coleman Hawkins, and Ben Webster. Her tone is delicate, but powerful and expressive. Her musical approach carries the legacy of jazz from the golden years to the 21st century. century. Bodil was born in Hammerfest in the Arctic, northern Norway. She grew up in Hammerfest playing in the school’s marching band. She can still remember sitting on her father’s lap and listening to Misty while he played it for her. Aksel Niska was an accomplished engineer, painter, and accordion player. He also introduced her to the saxophone sounds Ben Webster, Stan Getz, and his music. Bodil had physically to fight the boys to get the saxophone she wanted when the school band aquired their first instrument. She won, and she hasn’t looked back. Bodil developed a passion for jazz quickly, becoming a local jazz legend. Bodil was a member of many jazz bands, wrote articles about jazz for the newspaper, organized concerts and festivals, and managed the jazz club in her spare time. Bodil Niska seamlessly merged into the city’s jazz scene after moving to Oslo, the nation’s capital, in 1990. This was largely due to Randi Hultin, her jazz personality, journalist, and photographer. Randi, the amazing Randi introduced Bodil and other international jazz musicians to her. Bodil was sent to her by Randi, who also sent private recordings to Sonny Rollins. Sonny replied: “Damn!” The woman can PLAY! Bodil was encouraged by her friends, colleagues, and formed an all-girl group, Girl Talk, in 1992. This group included Bodil and Elizabeth Walker, as well as Tine Asmundsen (bass) Their 1996 album, Talkin’ Jazz, was a hit. Bodil began a solo career in 1998 with the support and guidance of Egil Kapstad, jazz pianist/composer/arranger. Bodil’s debut solo album, First Song, was made possible by the long-lasting musical friendship of Pelle Hulten and Bjorn Alterhaug, the legendary Swedish bass player. First Song was the best-selling jazz album of its genre in 2000. First Song’s cover was inspired by Dexter Gordon’s cover of Ballads. It is a tribute and tribute to his music and inspiration. Blue (2004) was a labor of love that took much time to prepare and put together. She writes in her liner notes: “In jazz the melody is often used only to facilitate improvisation and invention. Sometimes jazz is all about letting go of the constraints of the melody. A good melody, phrase, or mood is always a favorite of mine. To keep the melody true, I tried to remove some musical dust and to get my head back. Night Time (2008) places Bodil in a new musical context. With the addition of Claes Crona Trio, a Swedish-born norwegian resident guitarist/composer/arranger Staffan William Olsson, as well as a horn section, Bodil is able to take a more swingy and playful approach to music. She expects to get more criticism from the “jazz cops”, who favor technique and inprovisation over musical sincerity. Bodil Niska also owns and operates the all-jazz music shop and cafe Bare Jazz in Oslo. As a spokesperson for jazz, she is frequently used by media. She presented the Norwegian version 2000 of the jazz Grammy Awards. She has also appeared on numerous radio- and television shows. From www.niska.no
